A 26-year-old woman in Texas has been charged with murder after authorities say she performed a 'self-induced abortion'.
Lizelle Herrera was arrested on Thursday in Starr County, near the Mexican border. According to the Brownsville Herald, she was served with an indictment "on the charge of murder after Herrera did then and there intentionally and knowingly cause the death of an individual by self-induced abortion”.
Herrera is in custody at the Starr County Jail where she is being held on a bond set at $500,000 (£384,000), the Valley Central reported.
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In September 2021, Texas lawmakers passed the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.
Senate Bill 8, also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, prohibits abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, when many don’t even realise they are pregnant.
The bill also allows private citizens to sue abortion clinics if they suspect them of performing one, in addition to those who 'aids and abets' a procedure – this could be driving them there or helping with the costs.
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Since coming into policy, the law has forced thousands of women to travel out of Texas to obtain abortions — if they can afford to do so.
Texas Public Radio (TPR) reported that La Frontera Fund, an abortion assistance fund based in the Rio Grande Valley, has organised a protest for Saturday morning outside the Starr County Jail where Herrera is being held.
Rockie Gonzalez, founder and board chair of Frontera, told the news outlet: “This arrest is inhumane. We are demanding the immediate release of Lizelle Herrera.”
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Gonzalez added that her group did not know all the details of the 'tragic event' and said criminalising pregnant people’s outcomes leaves them with 'no safe options'.
“What we do know is that criminalizing pregnant people’s choices or pregnancy outcomes, which the state of Texas has done, takes away people’s autonomy over their own bodies, and leaves them with no safe options when they choose not to become a parent,” Gonzalez explained.
She added that the Texas legislation had the most impact on "low-income people of color communities."
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In light of the Texas Heartbeat Act, Oklahoma's House of Representatives voted to ban all abortions unless the procedure is required to save the mother's life.
The state's house in which Republicans hold a supermajority, voted to send the bill to the office of Governor Kevin Stitt for his approval. If signed would mean a near total ban on abortion.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this story, you can speak in confidence about where to get help from Mind free on 0300 123 3393, 9am–6pm Monday to Friday.
Lisa McLoughlin